American Can Company presents “Vitamin Rivers,” a color film produced Caravel Films, Inc. of New York in the 1950s. A typical 1950s family opens the picture with the teenaged daughter working on a school project on fruit and vegetable juices. She explains the history of oranges to her father (and the audience) starting at mark 01:45, having originated in China, and ultimately finding their way to the New World thanks to Christopher Columbus. Thankfully, dad went to Agricultural College, and at mark 04:08 recounts how the United States grows more citrus fruits than any other nation, primarily in such warm climates as Arizona, California, and Florida. He recounts the importance of the right seed and soil, as his narration is accompanied by scenes of workers in orange grove fields. Near mark 07:30, as workers pick oranges, dad explains how oranges are packed with vitamins and minerals as well as sugar for energy. Because they are perishable, their juices are also canned, as trucks are shown at mark 08:40 unloading thousands of oranges onto a conveyor belt and eventually a juice extractor. After additional sugar is added to some of the stainless steel vats containing freshly squeezed juice (and grapefruit juice added to other vessels) the liquid is sent to large tanks, shown at mark 10:23, and onto pasteurizing machines to destroy enzymes and spoilage bacteria before being canned, “where all that goodness can be preserved indefinitely.” Dad also knows a lot about frozen concentrate, and shares his knowledge beginning at mark 12:50. He explains that in that process, natural water from the juice has been removed and is replaced with from a kitchen faucet when ready to drink. A lesson on grapefruit follows at mark 14:35, including how it is commercially processed, as well as lessons on pineapples and tomatoes. “Besides these juices … there are lots of other kinds to enjoy, made from grapes, apples, prunes, and several kinds of vegetables. Just think how convenient and healthful it is to have all the vitamins and natural goodness extracted for us, canned, and then practically flowing into our homes, like a lot of rivers.” And on that note, the film comes to its end.
The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a “large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin.” American Can Company ranked 90th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. It was formerly a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1959–1991, though after 1987 it had renamed itself Primerica, a financial conglomerate which had divested itself of its packaging arm in 1986.
Primerica, after it was merged with Sanford I. Weill’s Commercial Credit Company, would form the basis of what would become Citigroup. The American Can Company had its headquarters in Manhattan, New York City until 1970, when it moved into a Greenwich, Connecticut facility, which had been developed on 150 acres (61 ha) of wooded land in the late 1960s. In the early 1980s American Can renamed itself and ended its operations in Greenwich.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
